John Hughes - Profile

Hey welcome to watchmojo.com, I'm your host Derek Allen and today we’re going to take a look at the legacy of John Hughes and the marche and his films left on popular culture. Born in Lansing, Michigan in 1950, John Hughes first got his taste for writing while working as an ad copy writer in Chicago. He would soon transition into writing comedy and a story Vacation ’58 would land him on the staff of National Lampoon Magazine. This story describes his family trips as a child and would be the basis for the 1983 film, National Lampoon’s vacation, starring Chevy Chase. [Movie Stream] Other stories that Hughes penned while on National Lampoon Magazine, which shows strong understanding of teenage culture. He refuse to portray teenagers in the usual Hollywood manner as a moral and ignorant. Hughes saw teenagers to be a specially bright and deserving of respect. He would take this viewpoint and apply it to four films he wrote and directed between 1984 and 1986. Led off by Sixteen Candles, who’s directorial debut, and followed by the Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. These films would be praised for the realistic depiction of high school life and also for being some of the most popular comedy films of the decade. Hughes also brought film convention by having this character stop to address the camera and audience. [They bought it.] As well as having the action continue after the end credits. [You're still here? It's over] These films would be a big part of the Brat Pack era, the Brat Pack being a nickname given to a group of young fresh actors and actresses of the time who frequently appeared together in teen-based coming of age movies. Hughes has use of popular music in his films, is another aspect of his film making that cannot be overlooked. His ability to capture the emotional cues of a film with the addition of select song, such as Simple Minds’ Don’t You Forget About Me, remains an essential and unforgettable part of many of his movies from the 1980s. Following his remarkable success in this genre, Hughes shifted his attention to adults with his 1987 comedy, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. This began a series of film starring John Candy, such as 1988’s the Great Outdoors and 1989’s Uncle Buck. Uncle Buck introduce Hughes to child actor, Macaulay Calkin, who’s soon after start in 1990’s Home Alone. With this film, Hughes almost single handedly saved the cash dropped 20th Century Fox. The film which he had written and produced, generated $500 million worldwide and became his biggest and final hit. [Movie Stream] Despite becoming a Holiday’s staple, it has still generated a lot of negative publicity for its loud and fairly violence slapstick comedy. [Movie Stream] Hughes continue to focus on pre-teens in the movies he would write and produce. [Movie Stream] Critiques in turn felt he had traded his sharp writing and dialogue for crude broad- base humor. These films included: Beethoven, Dennis The Menace, and Baby’s Day Out. His involvement with 1994 remake of a Miracle on 34th Street, brought him staving criticism yet again. And in turn, he began penning and producing remakes for Disney. These remakes such as a 101 Dalmatians and Flubber were financial success and wildly popular with audiences. However, he never regained the glaring success that his first films had brought him. Hughes final major film project was Home Alone Three in 1987. Like the film, Hughes faded away from the spotlight and turned his back on Hollywood. He spend the last decade of his life as a farmer in the State of Illinois. During that time, he still wrote scripts to films, under the fake identity of Edmond Dantes, named after the character from the Man in the Iron Mask as Hughes considered himself a prisoner of his own success. His last screenplay was of a 2008 film, Drillbit Taylor. [Movie Stream] Despite John Hughes’ difficulty in recapturing his early success, his reputation is one of the leading interpreters of teenage life remains unparalleled. [Movie Stream] He has also recognized as the main inspiration for directors like Kevin Smith, who would follow in his footsteps.